Judgement

East-West Separation

October 2, 2017 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:8-14)

If you take a few moments to Google the idea of the universe expanding, this is what you will find:

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble made the observations in 1925 and was the first to prove that the universe is expanding. He proved that there is a direct relationship between the speeds of distant galaxies and their distances from Earth. This is now known as Hubble’s Law.

The galaxies outside of our own are moving away from us, and the ones that are farthest away are moving the fastest. This means that no matter what galaxy you happen to be in, all the other galaxies are moving away from you. However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else.

There is no separation in a person’s life like the separation from the companionship of a loved one. Different causes produce the anguish from such a separation: military service, emotional estrangement, divorce, incarceration, and death. These and others can cause a sadness and almost unbearable, crushing depression.

If we were only animals, separation would most likely not produce severe sadness. Some animal species are deeply affected by separation. The study of the African Elephant, as an example, indicates that the memories of these huge beasts are deeply affected by the death of one of their herd. But we are quite different from any of the animals God created.

We humans were created for a unique fellowship and communion with our Creator. The fact of sin—disobedience to God’s law by our first parents, produced a progeny of lawbreakers who through history have illustrated alienation from God. We have been alienated from that common-union for which we were created—the union of God’s Spirit in our spirit. That’s what originally made Eden perfect.

It is the Christian religion that teaches reconciliation of man with his Creator by means of a mediator. The Scripture says,

“God wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:4-5).

You know, I think that David the King knew this long before Edwin Hubble made his discovery. After his sins of adultery and murder, the Psalmist was granted to learn the spiritual principle that God’s forgiveness of our sins is easily depicted as being removed from us by His grace further and further from those acts whereby we sinned against God and our fellow friends. The records of our sins and failures might be kept in the memory of friends—especially those against whom we sinned heniously. They may be kept in the records held by civil authorities. With todays computer technology they can pull up every speeding ticket, every act of tax evasion, and display it right in front of us or others. Look how the investigating agencies are digging into the political machinations of our political parties. Emails….telephone conversations, you name it. You are on record.

But that’s not so with your moral transgressions against the God of the Universe, if you have repented and asked forgiveness from Him. Look what King David says:

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
The Lord does not always scold us; He doesn’t keep His anger forever.
He doesn’t always deal with us in accordance with our sins.
He doesn’t always give us the penalty we really deserve.
If we truly fear Him and repent of our sins He will show us mercy.
God treats us like a loving human father would treat us.
God knows everything about us—He knows every secret we keep.
God knows every weakness, every character flaw, and every evil motive.
And in spite of all that we have done to deserve His displeasure…
God is willing to forgive us and separate our sins from us “As far as the east is from the west.”

Think of it! Meditate on the fact. If the universe as we know it is expanding, then the distance between our past sins and failures are drifting further and further away from us. We may be tempted to hold onto our past failures; but God has removed and is continually removing our confessed and forsaken sins away from us. He does this in order that we might serve Him every day with a clear conscience and a desire to allow Him in His power and grace to live through us toward others for His glory and the benefit they might receive by our positive witness to His grace in forgiveness. Now that is the mercy of God! Learn it. Grasp it. Cling to it, and rejoice that you are His forgiven child.

Sick and Angry

October 18, 2015 by Beryl Smith 1 Comment

“ Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”
(Eph. 4:25-27)

Can any right thinking individual not feel sick, when they see our nation devolving in corruption and immorality? Politicians lie to get votes. Businessmen lie and cheat to make deals. Our public educational system is engulfed by secular humanism. The onslaught of Islamic militants appears to succeed in their godless jihad around the world. Our nation seems to be satisfied to forsake its opportunity to provide leadership in the world; and political apathy seems to be a cancer eating at our national foundations. But is the thing that bothers me the most?

It appears to me that the main reason why this nation is crumbling is that the Evangelical Church has surrendered in the spiritual battle and has given the devil, Satan and his minions, free reign to destroy this nation. And I place the blame squarely on the spiritual leadership in the Evangelical Church. Preachers won’t preach against the holocaust of abortion – some of their members have joined the abortion industry that has resulted in the murder of over 60 million of our unborn children. [Read more…]

Let’s Get This Straight

September 4, 2015 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“For Thou didst form my inward parts; Thou didst weave me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Thy works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from Thee, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth. Thine eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Thy book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
(Psalm 139:13-16)

God ordained and planned your life before He spoke the Universe into existence. He ordained the day of your conception, the day of your birth, and the day of your death. God is the author of life, the sustainer of life, and the consummator of all earthly life by His providence.

Abortion is premeditated murder. Murder is the killing of a human being with intent to kill (malice aforethought). It is condemned by God and worthy of damnation in hell. In our post-Christian culture, the murder of the unborn is subjected to the choice of the mother bearing the child. It is culturally accepted as pre-birth, partial birth, and of post birth, as seen in the damnable practice of removing a child to harvest its organs for sale. Culture willfully accepts abortion as normal solution to an unwanted pregnancy, particularly in cases of rape, incest, or the health of the mother. [Read more…]

The Evil Wind of Delusion

December 9, 2014 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“And for this reason God will send upon them a strong delusion so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thessalonians 2:11-12)

The words of Paul to the Thessalonians are as applicable to us as they were to the 1st Century believers in Asia Minor. An evil wind is blowing. It is a wind of strong delusion.

Nations and peoples who turn their backs and hearts from God incur the righteous judgment of God. Having grown up in California in the post WW-II and Korean War era, I did not envision our nation turning so far away from the beliefs of our founding fathers. It is evident from our national political turmoil and our financial indebtedness that a thinking person should at least consider the possibility of God’s judgment upon us.

As we continue to see the erosion of our Judeo-Christian heritage and the evident embrace of the spiritual bankruptcy of multiculturalism and secular humanism, we must ask ourselves, “Has God given to our people a “strong delusion”? – a deluding influence that they should believe lies? Is America to slide down into the pit of unbelief, as nations in the past?

The evil wind of unbelief blows stronger with ever year I spend in this “Land of the Free.” Unbelief breeds deeper delusion in the world of myth, lies, and heresy. Moral and spiritual poverty follow this delusion. The worst judgment of God upon us is not our national debt of 18 Trillion Dollars. Forbes “Opinion” reports,

“The federal unfunded liabilities are catastrophic for future taxpayers and economic growth. At usdebtclock.org, federal unfunded liabilities are estimated at near $127 trillion, which is roughly $1.1 million per taxpayer and nearly double 2012’s total world output” (1/17/14).

That ought to be enough to scare any Christian into their prayer closet, if they have one!

It is the damnation of our “pleasure in unrighteousness” that spells our demise as a great nation. It is our personal and national sin that invites our judgment and doom.

We who believe in the Christ who rules the Universe and will judge the world, have a three-fold responsibility to God and our nation, as Paul discusses in the context of the verses of my text.

First, we must constantly give thanks that “God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2:13-14).

Second, we must “stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us” (2:15). The pagan beliefs of the ancient world and the skepticism of our atheistic age will go to hell, where those will dwell who believe their teachings.

Third, we must desire and then allow “our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen our hearts in ever good work and word” (2:16).

We must realize we have been converted – turned from the “broad road of destruction” to the “narrow road of life.” By our words and actions we have been called by God to stay the strong delusion of unbelief, which appears to be God’s judgment upon our land. We would do well to quote those words of John Bunyan from Bedford Jail,

“The hill, though high, I covet to ascent,
The difficulty will not me offend;
For I perceive the way of truth lies here.
Come, pluck up heart, let’s neither faint nor fear;
Better, though difficult, the right way to go,
Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe.”

America’s Obsession

December 6, 2014 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

We heard recently that Giancarlo Stanton has entered into a contract with the Miami Marlins for $325 million dollars. For 13 years this baseball outfielder will receive $69,000 dollars per day. This speaks more than this super extravagant sports contract. It speaks of America’s obsession with sports – all kinds of sports. This obsession to some has become a cultural obscenity. It has become a significant factor in the demise of our nation culturally.

What do Americans spend on sports every year? In 2008, the International Association of Sports Economists published an article entitled “The Size and Scope of the Sports Industry in the United States.” They declared “estimates of the size of the sports industry ranged from $44 to $73 billion in the year 2005.” Today’s statistics are much higher. Checking “US Sports Spending” on Google is almost mind-boggling.

The average weekly salary for a professional athlete is over $125,000. That’s over twice what the average worker makes in a year. The cost for travel to sporting events tops $7 billion per year. Think of the billions of dollars spent by cities to build their sports stadiums. Time magazine called college sports spending “insane,” noting that in 2011, Ohio State University spent $380,000 per year per football player, while spending only $20,000 per year on academic students. Many high school basketball players set their dreams on becoming a professional athlete, while only one out of ten thousand actually secure a position in the NBA.

Edward Gibbons, in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, stated that one of the five reasons why Rome withered and died was its mad craze for pleasure sports. Now, I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy watching a baseball or football game. I even enjoy watching a little golf. However, no one with any spiritual vision will fail to acknowledge that our culture is becoming more anti-God and anti-Christ. We have become a materialistic, hedonistic nation, mesmerized by many forms of entertainment. And sports –from amateur to professional – tops the list of contributing factors.

There’s nothing wrong inherently with sports; but individuals who profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ must look at sports from a different view. Does the Bible speak about athletics? Yes, as a matter of fact it does. The Apostle Paul declared to his son, Timothy,

“Have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily exercise is only for a little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (I Timothy 4:7-8).

Now, I’m not saying that Christians should not engage in sporting activities. Nor am I saying that some Christian athletic associations have not been successful in reaching for Christ those who love sporting activities. What deeply concerns me is the way in which Christian men have been sucked into our nation’s craze for pleasure sports (and that doesn’t even include our craze for hunting, fishing, boating, and camping).

If you would like to know how Christian men are affected by this phenomenon, ask one of your church leaders (or ministers for that matter) to talk to you about sports.

Ask them to tell you about the standing of their favorite baseball, football, or basketball team.
Ask them about their favorite player’s sport’s statistics.
Then ask them to recite for you the Ten Commandments.
Ask them to name for you the Twelve Apostles, what they did and how they died.
Ask them to define for you the doctrine of justification or the substitutionary atonement of Christ.
Ask them if they faithfully tithe, or if they steal God’s tithe for their own consumption.
Ask them if they have ever seriously witnessed to a lost friend about his need for Christ.

If you attend the average evangelical church, the answers will grieve you. You will begin to realize just how backslidden our churches have become and how spiritually vacuous and cowardly are most who fill our pulpits. Then you will understand why I believe that the greatest need in our nation is for the Holy Spirit of God to send conviction, repentance and revival to those who lead in our churches. The silence of our leaders in this matter is deafening! Each of us must realize that one day we will stand before Christ to account for our service to him. God commanded us,

“Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (I John 2:15).

We must each give an account of our earthly priorities. And we would do well to face this fact: sports provide no spiritual benefit to our nation. Godliness promises both blessing in this life and the life to come for those who trust Christ. Pleasure sports will not be allowed in Hell. We believers who desire to grow in grace would do well to heed the words of Colossians 3:1-4:

“If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set you mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”